Nicholas Quirke was in awe of the scenery he was surveying on 5 May 2020, the final day of the Labour day holiday, that had bought hundreds of Chinese out into the mountains. Everything about the journey and location was spectacular. Only 40 minutes into their drive and he was driving past preserved Sections of the Great Wall, which, he reminded himself was one of the Wonders of the World. It felt like an auspicious start to the day in which the scenery got more and more inspiring. They were heading to Yudu Mountain Natural Scenic Area and as they climbed higher and towards the peak the mountain ranges that came into view were breath taking and no camera could ever do justice to the scale of the vista. They had sent off at 7am and reached the location for their day trip by 8.30 and they immediately began with a hike around the beautiful lake that nestled between the peaks. They discovered an open plateau where some of the day trippers were setting up tents and flying kites, they had no tent but aware that there would not be any Vegan food on sale anywhere they had bought a picnic which they consumed slowly and steadily throughout the day. They followed a path through the woods along the river and came across a waterfall and it’s chilling transparent water. They found a path which appeared to be blocked and this inspired them to go off piste and leave the throng of visitors, amongst which he was again the only western face. His presence continually attracted attention and there were several passers by who said hello. They took the forbidden ancient path, the Shinian Road, so called for the huge flour grinding stone long abandoned, through the wood which eventually led them to the Yudu Mountaim Peak and pavilion from which they enjoyed the magnificent sights. Nicholas had bought his sketch book and kit with him and Finding a suitable spot to draw the landscape He sat down and spent a pleasurable hour rendering the landscape in pencil while Peng rested. It was an idyllic spot and day and though he was reluctant to leave he knew that the journey home was equally full of astounding views and he sat back in the passenger seat and enjoyed panorama. They dropped off the car and made their way to the apartment ordering a Vegan Chow Mein which reminded him of the Chinese takeaways he had enjoyed at home in the UK as a teenager. After an enjoyable catch up with his sister, the holiday was rounded off with another movie, The Public, which was a surprisingly gripping tale from Emillio Estevez. The long weekend and its activities had taken its toll and it was a weary Nicholas Quirke who took to his bed that night.